By Charlie Elliott
England U20s have been hugely successful in the past few years, having won the Six Nations and the U20 Championship last year, while looking close to a Grand Slam this year.
Following three wins from three, spirits are high in the camp, and the ‘brotherhood’ is stronger than ever.
Young Saracens lock Olamide Sodeke has been described as one of the key characters in the dressing room, being cited as having a huge influence on the positive mood in the camp now.
Sodeke spoke on why he believes his personality shines through:
“I’m just myself. I think I’m somebody who’s full of energy. It helps that we’ve got a team who are so close and so tight.
“So, everyone’s personality actually comes out, and that’s helpful, because we all bring the best out of each other.
“I feel quite grateful that they said that I’m the one that brings the vibes to the team. But as a team, it’s an upbeat group.”
Brotherhood
‘Brotherhood’ is the word often used to describe the group, the lock described what this word means to him:
“The reason why we kind of adopted this philosophy is because in international rugby, you have very limited time together.
“We’re at our clubs for the most part, so we recognise that we are together for a short amount of time. Let’s actually focus on fostering relationships together so that we have that extra edge.
“All teams internationally are going to be good players.
“It’s just that marginal difference, and if that’s us having those close relationships for them to manifest in the pitch, that’s why we had to use that term.
“And being able to fight for someone who you care for.”
Playing at Saracens has the benefit of playing with senior internationals such as captain Maro Itoje, who plays in the same position as Sodeke.
Playing with the Big Dogs
The lock spoke on what he has learnt in his young career from players more senior to him:
“I’ve got the privilege of being at a club with a few England internationals, so just the way they manage games or have conversations with each other, bits and pieces from there.
“That’s what I have learnt and applied to myself.
“In breaks in play, everyone’s going to have a feeling, emotion, or have some sort of idea of what they think is going on in the game.
“But just so that messages aren’t diluted, having a few people speak or specific people speak benefits the team.
“You advise as a group how to go into the next phase of the game. So making sure messages aren’t diluted.
“If lots and lots of people speak, having leaders of the group harness the messages helps the message not get diluted. So, things like that help the team. I’ve learned that.”
Maturity
Although he is only 19 years old, Sodeke is mature for his age.
The Saracen spoke on a key lesson that he has already learnt in his young career.
“You go into a game to win. The first principle I’ve taken is enjoy the win, even though it might not be pretty, enjoy the win. You won the game. That’s the key part, focusing on the process and not the outcome.
“A lot of the time, if you get your steps prior correct, results will tend to look after themselves as well.”
After being involved heavily in the success of last year, the question of whether there is still the same hunger to win was a key talking point going into the Six Nations this year. Because it has been a perfect start, it is safe to say that motivation hasn’t been an issue.
Sodeke talked about how they have stayed motivated:
“Naturally, playing for your country is enough motivation. Again, you can see you could argue the key is not to be complacent, it sounds a bit cliche, but when you’re playing with your mates, with your friends, it makes everything a lot easier.”
READ MORE: This brotherhood of mates is what keeps us together – England U20s Centre Angus Hall
